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Hamilton Conservation
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Read the full postThe Great Hamilton Toy Trade Fair
Kids make some pocket money at the citys first Toy Trade Fair in Garden Place next Sunday (24 January). The fair is for children to sell or trade toys no longer in use, anything from dolls and books, to video games and trading cards. The fair is part of the Summer in Garden Place line up of activities in the city centre this summer. The idea was raised by Councillor Peter Bos, who chanced upon a successful toy trade when visiting his brother in the Dutch town of Oirschot. We walked into this village green and I said "what is this?" There were hundreds of kids with their mums and dads and grandparents swapping and selling toys. Kids were getting excited and prepare for weeks for this. It is a huge family day. Councillor Bos said children learned about basic economics through the experience. It teaches kids the value of money, they buy and sell, they bank the money. These sorts of skills should be encouraged. Businesses around Garden Place are supporting the idea, including ANZ Bank which is opening its Victoria St branch on the day especially for children to change or bank money, and open bank accounts. Children must be accompanied by an adult for the Toy Trade Fair, 10-1pm on January 24. To get an information pack, contact Suzanne at Council, on 07 838 6799.
Read the full postHamilton Zoo tiger siblings to celebrate their 10th birthday
Hamilton Zoo's sibling Sumatran tigers, Jaka and Mencari, will be celebrating their 10th birthday this Sunday [10 January] with a special 'jungle party'. Held between 12pm-2.30pm, the party will include 'meet the keeper' tiger talks, a performance by musician/entertainer Simon McReesh and a singalong session featuring a song written especially for Mencari and Jaka. There will also be Face2Face encounters with Mencari and Jaka (normal fees apply), lollipop giveaways and a best dressed competition where the public are invited to dress up as a tiger for their chance to win a free Eye2Eye encounter valued at $300. Hamilton Zoo director Stephen Standley said Mencari and Jaka's 10th birthday is an exciting milestone for the zoo, which has been made even more special by the fact that according to the Chinese zodiac, 2010 is also the 'Year of the Tiger'. "Mencari and Jaka are a favourite amongst our visitors so when we came to the realisation that the brother/sister pair would be turning 10 on the 10th January 2010 and during the Year of the Tiger no less we knew we had to celebrate this special occasion," he said. "We invite everyone to come along to our 'jungle party' and help celebrate with Jaka and Mencari." Sumatran tigers live to be around 15 years old in the wild and 20 years old in captivity. Listed as critically endangered, wild populations of Sumatran tigers number less than 400 in the wild and continue to decline, primarily due to habitat loss with prime areas now being converted to oil palm plantations. Captive zoo populations are managed in an attempt to prevent this species from becoming extinct. Mencari and Jaka were born at Wellington Zoo and relocated to Hamilton Zoo in early 2001.
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